Iskcon temple attacked in Bangladesh, 2 injured. Two Islamists arrested.
Unidentified gunmen belonging to Islamist groups on Thursday night hurled a crude bomb inside International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) temple in Kaharol’s Jaynanda Dahachi village and opened fire at its entrance, reports said.
HENB | Dhaka | December 11, 2015:: A Hindu religious congregation in a ISKCON temple in Bangladesh was attacked by unidentified gunmen belonging to politically empowered Islamist groups who hurled bombs and fired gunshots at the worshipers, injuring two people in the second such incident in the same area in less than a week.
Three improvised bombs were thrown as dozens rallied at the temple atJaynanda-Dahachi village at Kaharol sub-district last night and then fired gunshots leaving the two people wounded.
“The priests and devotees first thought some people were celebrating their victory in a local school committee election exploding firecrackers but the miscreants then fired six gunshots when the two were wounded,” a police officer told PTI over phone.
The temple run by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in northwestern Dinajpur, police and witnesses said.
He said the devotees and the people in the neighbourhood chased and caught one of the attackers from near the scene while the second suspect was detained from the neighbouring Birganj sub-district today when he sought refuge at a home.
“The second detained miscreant fired a shot injuring the minor son of a landlord who refused to give him refuge early today but the neighbours rushed to the scene and caught him,” a local journalist reported from the scene.
He said the two Hindu devotees and the Muslim boy were being treated in two state-run facilities while police said they were questioning the two detained suspects.
“We can’t give you the details about the identity or the motive of the attack right now but we have launched an investigation and interrogating the two detained miscreants,” Dinajpur’s police superintendent Ruhul Amin said.
The injured were identified as ‘Mithun’, 22, and Ranajit Chandra Rohit, 40.
They were first taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital.
Doctor Partha Sarathi said Mithun, shot in his back, was transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital after surgery.
Rohit was undergoing treatment at the Dinajpur Medical College Hospital with a bullet injury in his leg.
Witness Sheel Prasad said three youths fired two rounds and hurled three crude bombs on the gathering.
One of the bombs went off, but the others did not, he added.
Dabor Union Parishad Chairman Biswajit Roy said locals caught a suspected attacker.
He was identified as Shariful Islam (28) from Palashbarhi of Gaibandha.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Sujon Sarker said police took the custody of the suspect later.
As per the report of Prothom Alo, another culprit Mochabbar Alam Khondakar (24) was caught from Singra village of Bhognagar Union in the Birganj Upazilla while he entered in a farmer’s house with a fire arms. Mochabbar is a resident of Lalmonirhat. Police was searching Mochabbar for last seven months in a missing case.
Police authority said several teams of RAB and police were looking for other assailants, if any.
The law-enforcing agencies have strengthened security in the area, he added.
A large number of people of the Hindu residents at the area rallied on the premises of Dinajpur Press Club to stage a human chain protest as the attack came five days after 10 people were injured in bomb blasts during another Hindu festival on the premises of historic Kantaji Temple, an archaeological site, at the same sub-district.
Police, however, tried to claim that the last week’s attack was a result of conflict between two groups of politically influential Muslim leaders over the lease of the Rashmela festival venue.
Rashmela is a Hindu Festival obviously. But, in an Islamic Bangladesh two Muslims groups unleashed attacks on Hindu Mela (congregation) to take the control all over. Land Jihad in Bangladesh is increasing day by day in Bangladesh to grab the lands of non-Muslim minorities there.
In Islamic Bangladesh, the ‘land sharks’ both in Awami League and BNP sides are very aggressive to swallow all the Temple Properties of minority Hindus in a very nefarious way.
___With inputs from PTI, bdnews24.com & Prothom Alo.